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2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor.

Patented Apr. 1,1884.

A. L. HIGLEY.

POTATO DIGGING MACHINE.

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A. L. HIGLEY.

, POTATO DIGGING MACHINE. No. 296,168. Patented Apr. 1, 1884. Fig.2

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PATENT ASA L. HIGLEY, OF TROY, new YORK, ASSIGNOR on ONE-HALF TO JennMATHEWS, on SAME PLACE.

POTATO-DIGGING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 296,168, dated April 1,1884.

Application filed April 30, 1883. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, As. L. HIGLEY, a citizen of the United States, andaresident of the city of Troy, in the county of Rensselaer and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPotato-Digging Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, that will enableothers shilled'in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several figures therein.

My invention relates to potato-digging machines; and the objects are,first, to force the ends of the radialarms beneath the potatoes andbring the latter to the surface of the ground; second, to leave thepotatoes in a row upon the surface of the ground.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my machine as a whole. Fig. 2 is a rearelevation of my machine. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the hub or frameK, taken at the broken line a: y in Fig. 1.

B and B are traction-wheels, mounted in the ordinary'manner upon anaxle, A, pro vided with a pole, 0, having braces D D. One wheel, B, isprovided with a gear-Wheel, O, fixed thereto, and connecting withgearwheel M. by the intermediate wheel, N, which has an axle, R,extending through its support P. The wheel M is fixed to the hub orcylindrical frame K, adapted to revolve upon its axle I, fixed to axle Aat J. The hub K is provided with radial arms L, as shown arranged inspiral form, and there may be one, two, or more rows of arms. I haveshown three depressions, b, in the hub, adapted to receive arms to formanother row or series. The arms are secured to the hub by means ofthreaded bolts a, passing through the arms and into a threaded aperturein the shell of the hub, as shown in Fig. 3, which arrangement permitsof the easy substitution of a new arm for a broken one. The rear end ofthe hub-axle I is secured laterally by the arm G, pivoted upon supportE, which latter is fixed to axle A and strengthened by brace F. Arm G isprovided with handle H, by means of which an attendant can lower orraise the rear end of the arm-supporting hub when it is desired to digdeeper or not so deep, or when any obstacle is to be passed over. Thesupport E also serves to carry the stop-screen S, which extends in aplane parallel with the line of direction taken by the machine, andserves to stop the potatoes as they are suddenly forced from the groundby the ends of the arms which are revolved in a direction at rightangles to the line of direction of the screen and toward the same, thepotatoes being left in a row upon the surface of the ground at the footof the screen. The screen is pivoted orhingedto support E, and may befolded up against the arm G when the machine is be ing transported fromone field to another or is not in use; or it may be folded to diiierentangles and held in the desired position by a hook and staple, as shown,or by any equivalent device. There may be two tractionwheels, B and B,fixed upon a common axle, to utilize the traction of bothsupportingwheels. I also employ two plows, T T, at- 7 tached to axle A,adapted to loosen the earth upon both sides of the row of potatoes to bedug. The plows are adjustable upon their supports U U as to height, andtheir supports are adjustable laterally upon the axle A. The-wheel N maybe arranged to slide backward in its support, to disconnect the hub Kand the traction-wheels. The radial arms L may be of any desired shapeor material, provided they are adapted to force the potatoes to thesurface of the ground when the hub is revolved. I prefer to make thearms of steel and curved in form,to give them elasticity and enable themto more easily enter the ground. I prefer to make the screen of wirehaving apertures sufficiently small to prevent pota .toes from passingthrough, though it may be of any material adapted to stop potatoesthrown against it.

From the foregoing description it will be 5 readily seen that a forwardmotion of the machine will give a revolving motion to armsupporting hubK and cause the arms to revolve in a plane at right angles to the lineof direction of the machine. The machine is drawn along over the row ofpotatoes to be dug, so that one traction-wheel and one plow pass alongon each side of the row, and the arms entering at one side of the rowfor]; it up and throw out to the surface of the ground or against thescreen all the potatoes in the row.

What Iclaim'as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a potato-digging machine, the combination of the following organizedparts, to wit: the axle A,With the transporting-wheels, gearing 0 N M,the revolving digger K, arranged in the line of draft, the adjustablefolding screen arranged in a plane parallel with the revolving digger, apivoted lever for adjusting the revolving digger, and the plows T T, at-15 taohed to axle A, to loosen the earth upon both sides of the row ofpotatoes to be dug, the combination being and having the mode ofoperation substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day of April,1883.

ASA L. HIGLEY. \Vitnesses:

' W. H. HOLLISTER, Jr.,

GEO. A. MOSHER.

